Dragons of a New World
by Lady Sunflower
Summary: [discontd] DragonLancePotterverse Crossover. A band of young dragons and a single human escape the world of Krynn in face of persecution from both their kin and their gods for not joining the war effort. But can they ever really escape the war?
1. The Freed Ones

**Author's Note:**

I know it seems a bit odd, to do, out of all things, a HP/DL crossover. Especially one dealing with dragons. But I shall endeavor to make this story one worth reading, and with my slew of OC's, keep the Mary Sues to minimum.

This story will probably be best enjoyed by those who have a working knowledge of both DragonLance _and_ Harry Potter. I imagine, though, that someone with little to no knowledge of DragonLance will get a good gist of what's going on, regardless. Most things explain themselves out well enough. If you're a DragonLance fan, but for some reason in your right mind you haven't read the War of Souls trilogy yet (and you don't know what happens, and care), for God's sake, stop reading. Major spoilers. You've been warned!

I can't imagine this story ever getting above the PG-13 rating - there will probably be a bit of graphic violence down the lines, but nothing horrible. Some romance, yes, but sorry, no lemons or limes. ;)

**Some notes to the HP people who do not know much of DL:**

Paladine -Platinum Dragon -The Paladin - Valthonis - Head God of Light (out of seven)

Takhisis - Five-Headed Dragon - The Dark Queen - Head Goddess of Dark (out of seven)

Mishakal is Paladine's consort, Sargonnas is Takhisis's consort.

DL world is Krynn, full of elves, humans, dwarves - you know, the usual fantasy menagerie.

Chrome dragons (breath weapons in parentheses) – red (fire), blue (lightning), green (poisonous gas), black (acid) and white (frost). Takhisis's children, generally "evil".

Metallic dragons – gold (fire), silver (frost), bronze (lightning), brass (poisonous gas) and copper (acid). Paladine's children, generally "good".

The two are considered mortal enemies of each other, and have been for as long as anyone can remember.

Dragons can live a long time - thousands of years - although most do not live that long, as they get killed in battle well before then. The do not age linearly, but rather dependent on their environment, and I want both HP and DL readers to realize that throughout this story, the dragons in it are basically children. They have the same mental capability as the teenagers they befriend later on in the story. Just because they are hundreds of years old at that point doesn't make them any the wiser. And it will be a long time before we see the HP crowd, just so you know. We're gonna see an account of the Wizarding World from before Grindelwald to Voldemort's first uprising and Marauder years, to finally…finally…Voldemort second war and the current HP crowd. Soo…this may take a while; you're in this for a long run.

One last note to HP readers and DL people who didn't take my warning about WoS - right before this story begins, at the end of Dragons of a Vanished Moon, Paladine sacrifices his godhood so that Takhisis may became mortal and thus be killed, which she is. Paladine then becomes the elf Valthonis, and begins to travel Krynn. At this point, the story becomes increasingly AU, although I imagine that the story will hold true for quite a while in the DL Universe as the authors tend to horribly vague about anything that could directly contradict my story.

So, without further ado...on with the show...

* * *

Takhisis was dead.

Across the surface of Krynn, and deep within the pits of the Abyss, there spread a ripple of magic. It was subtle – few were attuned enough to the Dark Queen's power to feel it. It created an outcry among the chromes – most with rage and loss, but some with victory, for they would not be forced to do her bidding anymore.

But the most susceptible to her all suddenly sighed with relief. No longer were their young minds full of nightmares, but rather, blessed peace. A hundred young chrome dragons shifted within their eggs, and began to dream of greater things.

* * *

There was a sadness to see the Paladin finally step down from godhood. All understood it, but few liked it. Nevertheless, the Balance must be maintained, always. The metallic dragons retreated to the Dragon Isles in their grief, and put their dead to rest. The war among mortals was to continue – granted, it never ceased – but they would have no part in it, now, except for the few stray Silvers and Golds who had pledged their allegiance to the Solamnic Knights or the elves. After all, what was the point, with neither the Platinum Dragon nor the Five-Headed Dragon in the skies above?

It was a relief that the Dark Queen was dead – and Paladine wasn't dead yet by any means – but it was still sad that most of the dragons alive today would outlive him in short order. While they knew he was still alive, his divine presence had disappeared from their hearts. The benevolence that had invaded their minds at every turn was gone. Even when the gods had disappeared before, when Takhisis stole the world, they still felt him in their hearts. But not anymore.

Their eggs no longer glowed with a holy light.

* * *

It was time.

The dragons across the world could feel the whisper of infant thoughts trickle across their minds. Most of the chromes shut out the whisper – there were those who would be there to properly instruct the hatchlings, to cull the weak from the strong. It was none of their concern.

But the metallics crooned with delight. So many of their eggs had been stolen, transformed into the hideous draconian armies, and those that had survived were finally hatching. It was a good sign, for it meant that the young within felt safe enough with the world around them to finally come out and experience it. No one could ever tell when the eggs would decide to hatch – it was entirely random at some times, depending on the chaos of the world. Many had feared that the eggs would never hatch without Paladine. And yet, here they were, only a few years past his descent into mortaldom.

The new hatchlings boosted the metallic numbers by almost fifty. They were still outnumbered by the chromes, who would see another hundred to their ranks, but the dragons of the former Dark Queen seemed too far interested in the power struggles of mortals to bother with the isolated dragons on their Isles.

But there was something different about dragons that hatched that day. Furora snarled down at the youngest generation of chrome dragons. There were a few promising gems – notably among the reds and blacks. But a large gorup cowered together, seeking strength in numbers, like weaklings.

"Why do you not attack your siblings?" the red matron cried at a sizeable blue hatchling among the throng.

The Blue turned its blind eyes to her, "Why should I?"

Furora was shocked into silence before roaring the age-old mantra, "For mercy is weakness and weakness is death!"

"Then why are we still alive?" a Green piped up. Furora was so incised that she lunged at the unsuspecting Green, but was stopped at the last moment by the blue tail of Hyperion. She snapped in rage at the Blue, but he paid no mind.

"Let them see their own folly, Furora. You teach them nothing by devouring them when they are blind," the older Blue supplied.

"They must be taught respect! I will not allow this weakness! It is what our Queen would have done," she added petulantly.

Hyperion smirked and released the Red, "Yes, and look what that has done for us. We are free, now, Furora. This generation has not been tainted by her presence, or known the alien Overlords. Perhaps we could learn something from them."

Furora snorted, and suddenly snapped her head forward, devouring the squalling Green in one bite. The other hatchlings cowered away from the spot the Green had once occupied, and Hyperion gave her a disapproving frown.

"I think not," she spat.

* * *

The metallics noticed that their young seemed troubled by their surroundings, as if something was missing. They did not take any more than passing interest in an elf named Valthonis who watched his youngest generation of children hatch with a great sadness in his eyes.

"They will see great trials in their lives," spoke the wearied elf, leaning on an oaken staff. "Great tribulations. More so than any before them."

"They are lost," spoke the blind silver at his right side. "Lost without you, as we all are."

"They are not lost, far from it. They are free," the former god replied.

And thus they became known as the Freed Ones.

* * *

With the aid of Hyperion, nearly half of the newest generation of chrome dragons disappeared. Most of the adults didn't care in the slightest – those that were gone were weak, unfit to live. If they ever returned, they would be dealt with in short order.

No one heard wing or tail from the Weak Ones, as they had been known, until nearly a century and a half later. The youngest generation had grown at an alarmingly fast rate among both chromes and metallics – dragons normally grew at different speeds, depending on the times in which they lived – and it was as if they had picked up on some urgent message to _grow_, as if time was against them. And grow they did – they were already flying, nearly a quarter of their full-grown size.

The mortal world had changed around them – many of the chromes and a few metallics still joined the lesser races in battle. The lines of power changed constantly – alliances were formed and broken in what felt like heartbeats to the dragons, but were decades to the humans and elves. But it was a normality for them in an otherwise restless time.

It was an older White who found the lost enclave of the Weak Ones. She snarled at the sight of them wheeling around her new domain, under the watchful eye of the old Blue. She would kill them all herself, except she knew she was no match for Hyperion. So she changed course to fly south – she would find Furora, knowing the Red would be pleased to know where her long-lost daughter and kin had flown off to.

And so the chromes came in droves to finish off their exiled offspring. Gealdra the White was the first to sense the approach, and she quickly, but discreetly, flew to warn the others. But it was only a moment's notice before the chromes attacked – they had even brought along some of their other offspring, to watch, and even help, their siblings be killed.

The Weak Ones flew in terror from the onslaught. They had never been trained for battle past the occasional elk hunt or mock fights with each other. Unlike their siblings, their parents, who knew war and had no reservations against killing their kin. The shrieks of terrified dragons filled the crisp artic air, followed by the enraged roar of Hyperion as he returned from his hunt. The dead bison fell from his jaws, forgotten, as he dived at Furora, the obvious leader of the attack.

"Fly away," he roared to the young ones. "Fly away and hide!"

"Yes, hide, little ones! Let us hunt you down and kill you in the snow, like the weak, pathetic little worms you are!" Furora screeched in delight.

Hyperion let loose a blast of fatal lightning at the Red, but her battle-hardened reflexes allowed her to dodge the bolt at the last second. She sent a ball of fire in response, which caught the slower Blue on his right wing. He roared in pain, and then her fire was joined by other Reds in the flight, eager for bloodshed. Furora was irritated at the intrusion on her kill, but it was nevertheless satisfying to see the old Blue flail his burnt wings uselessly under the onslaught, plummeting to the snow bank below.

"Cease!" she suddenly cried, and landed beside Hyperion.

The Blue was no where near death yet, and snarled as he lunged at her. She took to the air quickly to dodge his snapping jaws, blowing a jet of fire straight into his face. He screamed in agony and floundered about, blinded. Furora's laugh was echoed by the dragons wheeling above her.

"Norax!" she called, suddenly, a thought forming as Hyperion collapsed into the snow, trying desperately to put out the fire that was burning away his eyes. The Black flew down to join her.

"Yes?" he rumbled, sneering down at the charred face of the old Blue.

"I would like our friend here to die a slow, painful death," Furora grinned maliciously. Norax was one of the few dragons that earned her respect in the past century. Respect was an odd emotion for her to handle, she had never felt it before Takhisis's demise, but it was certainly useful for garnering allies. Not that she needed any. But there was something to be said about knowing that someone else had your back in battle.

"Certainly," the Black replied. He paused a moment, as if in thought, and then spat a large ball of acid onto the Blue's flank. It was not as potent as the substance he normally used – no, this was meant to burn away the Blue's hide slowly, painfully, before eating into his innards. Furora cast a quick spell to keep Hyperion bound from moving, and another to keep him from passing out from the pain. She wanted him awake for every agonizing minute of it.

"Find the Weak Ones!" she cried to her circling brethren above. "Find them, and kill them! Show them no mercy!"

"For mercy is weakness, and weakness is death!" they responded as one – the teachings of their lost Queen was all they had left of her, now, and they all knew it with a passion. They wheeled off in many directions, in search of their lost offspring.

* * *

The young chromes were hunted down ruthlessly and killed one by one. After a few days, still enraged that she had not found her daughter, Furora received summons from the Dark Knights in the south. The Solamnic Knights were marching on Sanction, and they would need the chromes to battle a flight of Golds and Silvers. It didn't matter; they could continue the hunt later, after the battle. She would have her revenge for the shame her daughter had put her through. Her blood was not weak – she would not allow Furor to reach adulthood! The adults left, their flight heading south towards Sanction.

Slowly, the hatchlings called out from hiding, when it became clear that the older chromes had left. They squawked to each other quietly in the cold night, voices carrying well in the air. They could scarcely believe that their attackers were truly gone; rather believing that it was a trap to lure them out of hiding. But the pain-filled cry of Hyperion called his charges to him, and they obeyed.

They congregated on the still-living body of their old caretaker. Only half of them were left, and they cried with despair for their lost siblings. They piled snow onto Hyperion's disintegrating flank to help dissolve the Black's acid, but it was of no use.

"We are sorry we could not protect you, Father!" the young Tyberis called out. They all called him Father, but only Tyberis was his true son, though the young Blue did not know it. "We are weak – we are ashamed."

"Do not be. You are young, yes, so therefore you are weak, but only in that regard. Your strength is in your numbers, in your loyalty to each other, in your reliance on each other, and when you are older, you will appreciate that more fully, my children," the old Blue rasped.

"What shall we do?" Furor asked quietly. She had thus far escaped her mother's wrath, although she did not know how much longer her luck would run. "They will return, and we will be slaughtered, like our siblings."

"Fly west, into the setting sun, and south. You will cross a sea, and through the veils of thick magic, you will find the Dragon Isles. They are your sanctuary, your salvation."

"Don't the metallics live there? Don't they hate us?" Gladyli the Green asked.

"I trust that they will see you for what you are – go in peace, and they will have no quarrel with you," Hyperion sighed. He only hoped what he said was true, but it was the hatchlings last hope, without any adults to protect them.

"What about you? We cannot leave you to die!" squeaked Tyberis.

"There is no hope for me, my children. The only thing that keeps me awake is the spell Furora placed on me, and none of you are skilled enough to remove it. Go now, before they return."

The young ones squalled in protest, crying out in raged, in fear, in frustration and in grief. Tyberis was the first one to take off, heading west to the fabled Isles that promised to be their solace. He did not look back.

One by one, they took off. The last one left, Gealdra, blew her frost breath across Hyperion's flank, effectively numbing him from the pain of the acid, though it continued to burn through his innards. None of the other hatchlings had ever used their breath weapons before, but Gealdra found the strength within her to try.

"Thank you, my daughter. Now go. I shall be with you all, always." Hyperion sighed. If he had known the word, the emotion, the feeling, he would have told them that he loved them. But he didn't know it, and thus could not describe the feeling blossoming within him.

As he watched the White fly quickly after her siblings, his vision began to cloud. He was proud of them, he reasoned. That was the emotion. With that knowledge, death was upon him, and he saw a visage of a beautiful human woman before him, clad in blue robes. He knew she was a Goddess of Light, although he did not know her name, or why she would visit him in death.

"Come, my young Blue. Your next journey awaits you, if you are to truly watch over your children."

"Why, Goddess, do you come to me? I am not of Paladine's stock."

She smiled. "Good and Evil do not matter here. For you, my friend, are a Dragon of Krynn."


	2. Connections

Valtrex dove into the rolling waves, reveling in the cool waters whisking around his lean silver body. He swam just beneath the surface, watching the oceanic life around him with interest. Nothing was large enough to peak his stomach, except for a pod of dolphins nearby. But something within him adamantly refused to eat dolphins – there was something intrinsically intelligent and playful about them, and it seemed a sin to harm something so fun to play with.

And play they did. Upon spotting the silver dragon, the dolphins swam over and began to swim with him, diving in and out of the waters, squealing in their own language at him. Valtrex hadn't the slightest what they were saying, but he hummed back at them.

He sensed he was nearing the border of the magical barrier that protected the Isles from intruders, but he swam on, resolutely. He hadn't come this far just to turn back. There was something within the young Silver that called to him, that made him want to explore the world. The older dragons just shook their heads and chuckled – most of the Silvers knew all too well the feeling, the need to explore, but warned him that going outside the barrier could mean his death. The world was very hostile outside their sanctuary, they told him.

None of the other Silvers in his generation, except Sellisa, understood the desire to explore. They were curious about the world around them, yes, but dared not venture forth recklessly. But even Sellisa would not come close the barrier.

And so Valtrex was out here, alone, again. Last time, he had not been able to come up with the nerve to swim past – for he knew it would be easier to swim through the barrier than to fly through it. But this time, he would not play the coward, he told himself. He would see the world on the outside.

He dived further, nearing the barrier. He knew that the deeper he went, the easier it would be to penetrate, and so down he dove. The dolphins ceased to follow him, chattering excitedly as they fell back.

_There_. Valtrex sensed a slight weakness in the barrier. This would be the best spot to swim through.

Valtrex nervously paused, before swimming headlong at the barrier. He struck it soundly, and then…he was passing through it, and it wasn't an entirely unpleasant feeling. Like swimming through mud. He knew that the barrier would let him pass at any rate, for he was a silver dragon, and thus it knew to allow him through. It just was a harder thing to do in the air, without permission from the older Golds on Misty Isle. It also allowed him to pass by unnoticed by them – or so he hoped.

Suddenly, he was through, and he quickly swam to the surface. The sky was just as blue on this side as it was on the other. Valtrex chuckled. He had half expected smoke-filled skies, blood-filled waters, and chrome dragons attacking from all directions.

He swam quickly, flapping his wings above the water, trying to catch lift. Water take-offs were always hard without the aid of magic, but he managed well enough. He flew high into the cloud-speckled sky, taking in the view around him. He could see the Isles behind him in the distance, and he fancied he saw the main continent to the east. But that was silly – he was too far away to see the mainland.

He drifted lazily in the air, closing his inner lids in pleasure as the soft sea winds caressed his still-wet wings. Off into the distance, he saw a black bird flying towards him. A large black bird, at that. He fancied himself a bit of poultry for an afternoon snack, and drifted up into the clouds for cover.

But the bird kept getting bigger and bigger, and Valtrex noticed that there was a whole flock of them, and as they got closer, he released they weren't all black – some were green, some were red, some were white, and when he strained his eyes, some were blue…

The thought struck him forcibly. These weren't birds, they were dragons! Chromes, at that! He panicked slightly, but kept his cloud cover. Hopefully they wouldn't see him – but where were they going? Certainly this wasn't an attack on the Isles! There were only a couple dozen of them, and they were small – probably no older than him. Perhaps they were just passing through – but to where? There was nothing on the other side of the Isles, just open ocean.

He watched them warily. He would have to return as quickly as he could, to warn the others. Once they passed, of course.

But the clouds seemed to have other plans – they were dispersing around him, being driven off by the force of his flapping wings. He cursed – if only he knew levitation spells like Khindris, his Gold brother, did.

The chromes spotted him at once and halted. They begin to circle around under him, and a Blue called up.

"Hey there, you, Silver! Could we have a moment of your time?" it politely asked.

The situation was so surreal that Valtrex found himself descending to their altitude before he could even think about it. Once his initial surprise was over, he noticed the nervousness in their expressions. If chromes had the same expressions that metallics did, anyway.

"Greetings," Valtrex said warily. "What brings you here, Blue?"

"My name is Tyberis, and these are my siblings. We are exiles from the main continent – hunted by our own brethren – and we seek sanctuary within the Dragon Isles," the Blue responded.

A White female added, "We come in peace!"

They all nodded and Valtrex was more than slightly stunned. He floundered for a response, "You understand if I am more than a bit shocked and don't believe you immediately."

The White who had spoken looked a bit crestfallen, but the rest stared at him with an intensity that unnerved Valtrex. He began to notice telltale scars on their young bodies, and wondered what horrors they had been through.

Suddenly a cry went up from a Red in the rear of the flight, "My mother is near! She comes to kill us all!"

The dragons wheeled about him in agitation and Valtrex looked off into the distance to see a flight of chrome dragons – large, adult dragons – bearing down on them fast.

"Quickly, Silver, you must help us! The dragons of Paladine are our last hope!" the Blue named Tyberis said fiercely. Some part of Valtrex warned that this could be a trap of some sort to gain entry into the barrier, but something within the Blue's eyes spoke differently, and he believed them.

"This way! Follow me, as fast as you can!" Valtrex wheeled around and sped to the barrier – they would have to fly right through it, and hopefully, the barrier would accept the chromes at Valtrex's behalf.

The silver dragon was faster than all but the lithe Whites, and Valtrex was worried that the others would fall behind to their attackers. But nevertheless, they kept up with him. A strange scent touched his nostrils, and he had think for a moment to place it. Fear. These chromes were reeking of it, and Valtrex realized that if he was in his right mind, he would be, too.

Suddenly, he hit the barrier, and he spoke out fiercely with his mind, _"Please, let the young chromes who follow me to come through and none thereafter! They come in peace, in peace! We flee for our lives!"_

He felt the barrier give way, and suddenly, he was through, along with the chromes. They didn't stop flying, even when the first of the adult chromes attacked the barrier in frustration.

Valtrex knew that the attack would signal a response from the metallics on the Isles, and they would not stop to question the young chromes presence inside the barrier. Kill first, ask questions later.

"Quickly, dive into the water!" he yelled. The young chromes didn't stop to ask why, and instead followed his commands without hesitation. He followed them, sinking under the waters enough to leave his head above the waves. Around him, the chromes cautiously peeked their heads above the water, flinching when they saw the flight of metallics rushing at the barrier. The adult chromes on the other side suddenly veered away when they saw the onrushing attack.

The metallics sent their breath attacks at the chromes from the safety of the barrier – their attacks passed through harmlessly, while the chromes were blocked by the barrier's magic. The chromes shrieked in frustration, before retreating under the onslaught. One giant red stared at the metallics with hate-filled eyes for a moment longer than the rest, and was rewarded with a frost bolt to her flank. She screamed in agony and wheeled away, and a cry of victory went up within both the metallics and the younger chromes, who were caught up in the moment.

Suddenly, over a hundred of pairs of eyes turned to the twenty-three young chromes and the single Silver in the water. Valtrex gulped when he saw those eyes narrow. He had a lot of explaining to do.

* * *

"You just let them in! You compromised everything we have worked for – it could have been a trap!" Kyndri screeched at the young Silver.

"But it wasn't," he said softly to himself, watching the nearby chromes cower under the questions being shot at them by a couple of other Golds.

"Look at me!" the old gold matron commanded, and he looked up into her fierce eye – the other had been gouged out in a long-ago battle. "What could have possibly been in your mind to do such a thing?"

The question commanded the attention of everyone present, even the chromes nearby. Everyone turned curious glances at the Silver to see what his answer would be.

"They came to me seeking shelter, and when I saw they were being attacked, I could not just leave them there. I…I showed them mercy," Valtrex responded quietly.

There was a long silence around him. Valtrex risked a glance up to see a good many of the Silvers twinkling at him, the curious looks of the few Brasses and Bronzes, the eye-roll of the single adult Copper on the Isle at the time, and the begrudging looks of the Golds. The young chromes were gazing at him, a dawning look in some, and confusion in others.

"Looks like our lessons weren't all in vain, Kyndri," Hydral, an older Silver, said with something akin to glee. Valtrex wondered why so many of the Silvers and Golds looked pleased with him. He thought he had done wrong.

Darlax, another Silver, sighed. "Still, they are dragons of Takhisis, and though they may be Freed Ones, they cannot be trusted so soon."

"But we can't just turn them out," Kilvara said in their defense. "You saw the look on Furora's face – she wants them dead at any costs. I have never seen her let down her guard so completely, before." Kilvara was one of the silver dragons that still fought with the Solamnic Knights, though she spent the majority of her time in the Isles.

"Fine," Kyndri decided and turned her attention to the young chromes. "You may live on the irda's old isle, Tayol, but you may not come to any of the other Isles unless we call on you. Do not come to us for anything, and in time, perhaps you will gain our trust."

The other dragons all nodded in agreement with this decision, and the chromes looked relieved. They didn't mind the cold demeanor the metallics gave them – they understood that many of the metallics considered them their mortal enemies, and the chromes were just thankful they weren't being exiled, again. Or worse, killed.

* * *

"So tell me, young Silver, about your new friends," the human asked. Or, at least, Valtrex thought she was human. She had always been around, as long as he could remember, as long as many dragons could remember. He knew she took the human shape, though knew naught how old she was, or how she defied aging.

Kali leaned back in her wicker chair and gazed down at the young dragon in front of her home. He always felt nervous under her stare – and also, under the sad stare of another mortal who visited them often, some elf named Valthonis, who also visited with Kali often.

"They're so different from us, and yet it's like we're all the same. And I have so much fun with them!" Valtrex responded enthusiastically, in the human language.

Kali chuckled, "Not exploring more, are you, Valtrex?"

The Silver ducked his head, and grinned. There was no use denying it, but he wasn't going to readily admit it.

"Have any of your siblings made friends with them, as well?" Kali was generally interested.

"Oh, yes. Lots of us! We taught them how to catch fish, although I told them they shouldn't eat the dolphins or whales. Khindris has been trying to teach them magic, too!" Valtrex had been so excited, but immediately knew his slip. The elder dragons had specifically instructed that the young chromes not be taught any magic – they didn't really know very much to begin with, and the adults would've liked to keep it that way, as long as possible, before they started to discover magic on their own.

"Oh, don't be so ashamed, Valtrex. It is good that you are teaching them so much – knowledge should never be shunted, and you are forming friendships that will last you a lifetime," the human woman smiled at him, and Valtrex suddenly felt better about the slipup.

"I would like to visit them, Valtrex," Kali stood and walked towards him.

"Sure thing, I'll get Chonk!" he said eagerly. The bronze dragon was the largest in their generation, and could easily carry the human.

"No, Valtrex, why don't you carry me?"

Valtrex stared at her. "But I am not large enough to carry anyone, yet!" he cried.

"Oh, I think you are," the woman grinned. "Now, bend your right forearm here, ah, that's a lad, and lower your shoulder, good," she instructed, before climbing up on his back, and settling just behind his neck. He could feel her gripping his mane with her hands, and tightening her legs around the base of his neck.

"Now, no barrel rolls, or sharp turns, when you fly," she admonished. "Remember you have basically dead weight on your back, and without a saddle, I'll easily fly off of you."

Valtrex gulped nervously. She was heavy, but not too heavy. He was still unsure, though, and cautiously opened his wings. She reached down to pat him on the neck, and whispered, "I have faith in you, Valtrex."

It was all he needed. His heart swelled with pride at her words, and he took off into the air, the woman clutching to his back. He definitely felt the added weight, and beat his wings harder to compensate. It wasn't that much worse than flying with a large fish in his hands – the weight was almost proportioned to the same area, as well. He could do this. He _was_ doing this.

He wheeled around, cautiously, in the direction of Tayol Isle. His siblings saw him, and zoomed up after him, squealing with joy when they saw the woman on his back.

"You've got a rider, Valtrex, a rider! Just like the dragons in the tales Kali tells us!" the brass Kirsyntha squeaked from beside him.

"Yes, Valtrex is a natural!" Kali exclaimed from his back, and he lifted his head with pride. "We're off to see the chromes, shall you all come along?"

"Yes, yes! They will be excited to see you!" Voxia, another Silver, chirped happily. She barrel-rolled under Valtrex and sped ahead of him to the south. Valtrex realized that he was much slower with the added weight.

"Don't worry about it, Valtrex," Kali said soothingly from his back, as if she could read his mind. "When you're bigger, you'll hardly notice the weight, and be able to fly as fast as ever."

Valtrex nodded, and flew on, resolutely.

* * *

Kali's visits with the chromes became more and more frequent, and she began to teach all the young dragons, chrome and metallic alike, about magic.

"Your magic is different than anything else in this world," she would lecture. "High Sorcery depends on the gods of magic, Wild Sorcery on the magic of the world itself. Mysticism depends on the life source of every living thing, and Divine Magic, or Devotion, depends on the god that cleric aligns themselves with, and whatever favour that god shows them. But you, yours is special. Your magic only depends on one thing: yourselves."

"Do you have any magic, Kali?" one of the male Greens, Blatt, asked one day.

The woman's eyes turned towards the horizon, and the young dragons looked amongst themselves in confusion. Her response was quick, but full of emotion, "Not anymore." And the subject was dropped thereafter.

Some had more trouble with magic than others – the Bronzes and Whites could never seem to get the hang of things, while the Golds, Reds and Greens were the quickest to learn.

"No, no, no, Zosopel," Kali scolded the young Bronze one day. "Don't worry about the _words_. What are words, anyway? Don't give me that look, Khindris, I know what I say. What _are_ words, but merely an intention, a will? You may not be as powerful as a Gold or a Red, but you are just as capable as one. You have to _will_ it to happen – in fact, I daresay, you don't need words at all."

The woman held up a shining metal object, "This is a sword – nothing special about it, it's just made of plain steel. I want you to look at this sword, Zosopel, and _will_ it to bend."

The Bronze dragon floundered at her, and the other dragons stared at shock. Magic without words, without spells?

"You're asking him to perform telekinesis, Kali," Pyrocina, the smallest Gold dragon, whispered.

"Indeed I am. No one else here has ever done such a thing, but Zosopel, I think you can," the woman flashed a brilliant smile at the Bronze, who stuttered in response. "Come, now, Zosopel, concentrate. Imagine the sword bending under your might, as if you were to reach out and bend it with your claws. You _know_ you can bend it physically, so why not mentally? Is there really any difference?" She coaxed the young Bronze.

Much to everyone's amazement, the sword began to quiver under Zosopel's intense stare. Encouraged, the Bronze concentrated, and gasps up among the assembled dragons as the sword finally bent over in Kali's hands.

"Well done, my boy, well done! Now, who will straighten out Zosopel's work?" She beamed at the young dragons as they began to volunteer. The rest of the day was spent bending the sword back and forth, until finally, it broke when Gealdra tried to straighten it out. She cried out in dismay, but Kali only chuckled, "I didn't expect it to last this long, anyway. Don't be upset, Gealdra, the sword couldn't take the stress of being bent any longer. You did well."

"So does this mean we shouldn't use words, anymore, Kali?" Khindris asked, troubled.

"Oh, you can, you can, and probably should. They do make the process a bit easier for most of the time. Just know that you aren't confined to them, and that honestly, you can do anything your imagination can come up with, as long as you have the willpower to do so," she spoke with such conviction to them that the young dragons could do nothing but believe her, and believe in themselves.

They could do anything.


	3. Controversy

**Author's Note:**

Sorry if this is progressing extremely fast. Not much happens, trust me. These dragons will be nearly four-hundred years old when the story ends - you honestly don't want me to detail every moment of it, do you? Right, then! The story will slow down once interesting things begin to happen, I promise.

* * *

Over the decades, Kali taught them many things about magic and the world around them. Willpower wasn't enough – she introduced them to the concept, but they weren't ready to put it into practice past simple telekinesis. She taught them levitation spells, invisibility spells, spells to communicate long distances, and enchant objects. Spells to change one thing to another, to manipulate their surroundings and even, their own bodies.

Kali had laughed when they first started to shape-shift into mortal bodies. The dragons were upset that Kali thought they looked awkward or disfigured, but she just shook her head and remarked that she had never seen a dragon look anything but stunningly gorgeous when they shape-shifted.

Some took this comment as a compliment, others as a challenge. Folhala and Ursanth, a pair of inseparable Greens, spent the next week transforming into the ugliest beings imaginable, much to Kali's amusement. She advised the young dragons that if they ever needed to walk among the mortals, that they should look as plain and unnoticeable as possible, or else they would attract too much attention and blow their cover.

The older dragons on the main Isles took notice of their offspring cavorting with the chromes. After many debates, it was eventually decided that it could do little harm in this time of peace – and perhaps, the chromes would learn something from the young metallics. They just hoped it wasn't the other way around.

* * *

The young dragons became closer and closer as the years went by. There were many differences between them, many strengths and weaknesses. The Blacks and Whites could breathe underwater, while no one else could, or figure out how to without magic or shape-shifting. The Golds, Reds and Greens were the most adept at magic, though the Reds and Silvers had the easiest time shape-shifting. The Coppers and Whites were the smallest and the fastest in the air, although the Whites were considerably dull in intelligence while the Coppers were extremely sharp. The Blacks and Bronzes tended to want to be left to their own devices, though the Bronzes were much friendlier than the grumpy Blacks. The Brasses, Blues and Silvers were generally extremely sociable, and the Greens were, too, if they saw some sort of advantage to it. The Bronzes shied away from confrontation, and had an eerie ability to almost read the minds of their friends, while the Coppers seemed ready to pick a fight with anyone about anything. The Bronzes were also the largest and strongest, quickly followed by the Reds, then Golds, then Silvers and Blues.

The Silvers also discovered that the Blues matched them in curiosity with the mortal world, and Valtrex was pleased to find, that Tyberis wanted to explore Krynn as much as he did. The Reds were fiercely protective of their own, and the Golds spoke words of wisdom only matched and exceeded by Kali. They all worked well together, and found that they could easily compensate for each other's weaknesses by working together as a team, instead of individuals, as their kin had done for generations before.

But their time of peace and gaiety wasn't to last – it never does, in these things. War had been escalating higher and higher between the mortal races on the main continent, and while that normally did not concern the dragons in their isolation, the situation had changed.

The Gods of Light and of Darkness had floundered for centuries before finding leaders again amongst them. What had been over two hundred and twenty years in Ansalon since the demise of Takhisis passed by in a flicker for the gods, who finally decided that Sargonnas should lead the Dark, and Kiri-Jolith the Light.

The age-old game was up again, and the two gods began to call upon the children of Takhisis and Paladine to join their war efforts. All across Krynn, the dragons could feel the divine call, and many answered it, glad to have a song in their hearts again. The Freed Ones felt it as well, the alien sensation of divine presence. Many followed their parents and siblings into a battle that hardly changed. The young dragons on Tayol Isle, however, balked at the change.

"It says, it says, that it will forgive us for the folly of our youth," trembled Santhis, a young White.

"But what is there to forgive?" asked Furor viciously. "We have done nothing wrong, nothing at all!"

"No, we haven't, sister," Tyberis responded.

"You must fight it – do not respond to Sargonnas's call," Kali advised. Upon watching the turmoil their friends were going through, the young metallics also resolved to not join their elders in the fight with Kiri-Jolith.

"We cannot abandon our friends," Gwennilyth, a Silver, sighed. "But it is not easy to disobey our elders."

"We have to make a choice, then," said Kaylindor, another Silver. "I, for one, will stay with the chromes. We have lived this long without any god; we shall continue to do so."

One by one, the other dragons agreed to this declaration.

Their elders were incised at the young dragons' choice. They blamed the chromes, they blamed Kali, and they blamed themselves. But they knew they could not force their children to battle, so instead, they shunned them, and finally, they exiled the chromes and the human.

They did not expect the young metallics to declare that they would join their friends in exile. They ranted and raved at their offspring, but it was of no use. The Freed Ones were immune to the call of Kiri-Jolith, and knew nothing of the true dragons of Takhisis, despite the warnings. Their choice had been made, and if it meant leaving everything they had ever known, they would do so.

* * *

Kali was gathering her possessions into her bags, muttering to herself. She knew it couldn't have lasted, but still, she dreamt at one point.

"Need any help?" a familiar voice spoke from behind her, and Kali turned to see the wearied face of her old friend smiling in the doorway.

"Would it be beneath an elf to help a human by shrinking those books over there?" she pointed to the large stack.

"Not at all, not at all," Valthonis chuckled, and muttered the words of a shrinking spell, gathering the small books into a leather pouch and securing the clasp.

"I had hoped that it would never come to this – I knew by teaching them, I was taking a risk. I had thought, at first, that I could train them, you know?" she was rambling, but she didn't care. He had always been a good listener. "Train them, impress their young minds, grow my own army of dragons."

"Didn't expect to fall in love with them, did you?" the elf grinned at her, and Kali shook her head ruefully.

"Caught me completely off-guard. Who had thought a black dragon could be so loveable?" she smirked.

"Stole my design, she did," the elf rumbled, and Kali knew immediately who "she" was. "The dragons are all inherently the same, she just added her own modifications to the design, and taught them from well before birth to be the way they are. Without her presence, though, the Freed Ones reverted back to their true form. Well, mostly."

Kali nodded. Valthonis often talked about Takhisis when he visited with her – she always suspected it was rather like an old man reminiscing, but sometimes, she wondered. "Miss her, do you?"

The elf look startled for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Back before this whole business ever started, she was right fun, do you know? Everyone thinks we were enemies from the start – but no, we were marvelous friends. She was, after all, my sister. It was great conversation," the elf smiled in remembrance, but then frowned. "When this whole world thing came about, it started as a competition. But it quickly got out of control. And too bad, too."

"Any regrets?" she asked.

"Oh, many, many, but not about that. Never about that. This world is my greatest joy, and it continues to be so. I could never tell how serious she was about it – I never thought she hated me, no, except for at the end there. Even then, I wonder if she did. Oh, she made a right fuss about hating me here and there. But she still dropped by, occasionally, and we'd chat about this and that."

Kali could hardly believe that the Dark Queen, who had once whispered the darkest of desires and the most horrific of acts into her ear, could ever _chit chat_. Tempting her with power, she remembered, always tempting, of many things Kali had followed through with, much to her regret.

"Do you know, she had the most awful addiction to old Otik's potatoes?" Valthonis said suddenly.

"Oh, you're kidding me!" Kali laughed.

"Oh no, no, cross my heart. She'd take a mortal body all the time, go on down to Solace, and just stuff herself with them. That's when she first noticed Kitiara and Raistlin, actually," the elf sobered suddenly in reflection, and then a quick mischievous grin spread across his face. "She had the poor old soul trapped in the Abyss after he passed, cooking potatoes for her, before I finally got in and rescued him. Oh, she was right mad at me for that, but she knew she couldn't keep him. Good soul, Otik."

"Indeed he was. Good times, those were," Kali agreed.

"Yes," the elf sighed, and continued to shrink various objects around her home for her.

"Are you afraid?" Kali asked, suddenly. "Of death?"

"You know, it's funny. You'd think I wouldn't be, after guiding so many souls on to their next journey for so long. But you know something? I haven't the faintest where they go, or what will happen to me once Mishakal finally lets me pass through. It's a big mystery to even the gods, even though we had a clue more than most, I'd wager."

"Funny, that you, a god, will know that, when I shall never," Kali sighed, suddenly feeling very old, and very tired.

"Oh, being immortal isn't so bad, I should know," Valthonis's eyes twinkled, although he understood the pain Kali was going through.

"I'm just so tired, Paladine. I enjoy this world, I do. I enjoy teaching the young ones – gods know, I would've never imagined that a few hundred years back, but I do. But without my magic, it's so depressing, it always has been. I suppose I deserve it, though, for my arrogance."

"Eh, if it's any consolation, I lost a bet to Hiddukel once, too," the elf grinned and nudged her with his elbow. "Where else do you think sea dragons came from?"

Kali laughed, thinking of the half-dragon, half-frog creatures that were obsessed with treasure more than any Red and had a horrible disposition to rival a Black, "Oh, that's awful! I don't want to know the particulars of that wager."

"Yes, yes. Some tales are better left not told, I imagine," Valthonis mused. He spoke quietly, "I know about your plan."

Kali froze – she had not told anyone of her plan, and though he was no longer a god, the old paladin seemed to know what was on people's minds well enough. "Do you disapprove?" she whispered.

"No, it's probably for the best. Fresh start, wherever you end up at. Oh, don't look at me like that, I'm not quite so omnipotent anymore. Zivilyn popped by the other day, and in-between the vague questions and fluttering about, I got the general gist of what he was trying to tell me about. Told me you might need a few things, as well."

"Oh?" Kali was intrigued as to what the God of Wisdom had to impart on her.

"Yes, yes," Valthonis pulled out three singularly odd objects out of seemingly no where. One was a large branch that glimmered with a strangely in the light of the other two objects, a pair of crystal vials. One glowed blue, the other a scintillating silver.

"Is that…" Kali began to ask, astounded.

"Yes, a branch from the Tree of Life. Haven't the faintest what you'd need it for, but Zivilyn pretty much insisted on it. You should feel lucky – he doesn't intervene often."

"I do, I do, I'm honoured – and what are those?" she squinted at the two vials, peering at the contents inside, "Are those…hairs?"

"Yes. One is Mishakal's, and the other is one of my old hairs from…before," Valthonis seemed uncomfortable.

"What could I possibly need these for?"

"As I said, I haven't any clue, but then again, you never do know with Zivilyn," he chuckled.

"I'm…honoured, I really am," she whispered, watching him shrink the objects and put them into another bag for her. "Where…?"

"Would you believe that I used to groom myself a lot? Mishakal still complains that she finds hairs all over the vanity," Valthonis grumbled.

Kali just laughed at the domesticity of it all. She hardly believed what he said to be taken literally – no, he was twinkling way too much to be telling the truth. But she wasn't going to press the issue, and was instead glad for his help. She said a quick thank-you to Mishakal and Zivilyn, as well.

She looked around to find all her possessions – that she was taking, anyway – packed into a few bags. This was it, she surmised.

"I'm never going to see you again, am I?" she asked quietly. Valthonis nodded in confirmation, and there was an awkward silence before Kali suddenly threw her arms around the old elf in a hug.

"I'm going to miss you, you old dragon," she sniffed. Some part of her was recoiling in disgust at her actions, but another part of her told her to stuff it.

"Oh, perhaps we'll meet again, someday, in the great Beyond," he smiled. "Farewell is hardly ever forever, my dear."

"Perhaps," she smiled, gathering her bags and walking out her front door, grinning when she saw Valtrex waiting impatiently for her. The half-grown Silver peered curiously at the elf that came out with Kali, but something inside of him made him not ask his normally incessant questions about the elf's presence. He could tell Kali was sad about something.

"Goodbye, Valthonis," Kali called as she strapped the bags around Valtrex's neck, and climbed onto his back.

"Goodbye," the old elf responded, and as Valtrex flapped his wings and took off, he imagined he heard the elf call Kali by some other name.

But it was probably just his imagination.


	4. Passage

Twenty-three chrome dragons, twenty-five metallic dragons, and one immortal human was the final headcount for the Exiles. They met on Tayol Isle, and the atmosphere was depressing.

"What shall we do? Where shall we go?" cried Pocto in despair. The Brass looked around at his fellows, but no one seemed to have an answer for him.

"Do not despair!" cried Kali, and all the dragons turned to her in surprise at her cheerful demeanor. "For Kali has a plan!"

Grins broke out. "And what is this plan, old woman?" Binsanth called. Kali turned to the large Gold in disgust.

"Who are you calling an old woman?" the others laughed as the tension was relieved. They were going to be okay, as long as they had Kali. As long as they had each other.

"Right, then, the plan. First things first – you remember my lecture about willing magic to work for you?" the assembled dragons nodded. "Well, going to have to do this for the first part of the plan, because there really isn't a spell for it that I know of. We're going to set up a mind link. You Bronze might have a bit easier time with this."

"A mind link?" queried Lumina, and the other gold dragons mirrored her curiosity. This was an academic problem, now, their specialty.

"Yes. It will allow us to have instant mental communication with each other, no matter the distance. Or so I hope, at least. I've done this only once before – it takes a fair bit of power to connect to each other, but once you are, it shouldn't be magically taxing at all," the woman lectured. "The general theory is this: you want to reach out with your mind – and we'll have to do this one at a time – to interact with another's. Staring at each other generally helps a bit. And you'll need to use your imagination to visualize some sort of connection between the two of you."

"What do you mean, 'visualize a connection'?" Khindris asked.

"Anything that could work for you – a beam of light connecting your minds, perhaps. Or perhaps you could visualize the two of you in some sort of room together, for another twist on things," she explained. "Zosopel, Kariel, you two first."

Kali was impressed at how quick the young dragons picked up on the idea. As she had guessed, the bronze dragons, with their already heightened extra sensory perception, were easily able to form a mind-link, to which they were slowly able to add the others. They chirruped amongst each other in dragonspeak as they worked, so absorbed into the process they forgot about Kali standing there, watching them with an amused smirk on her face. It was long and mentally taxing for them, especially for the normally reclusive Blacks and Coppers, but eventually, all the dragons were linked together in their own mental realm.

"What about you, Kali?" Aura asked, cocking her golden head at the woman. She could tell by the sudden silence and distracted looks of the dragons around her that they were all talking to each other. "You don't have any magic, so how will you join with us?"

"I'm not sure that I can, Aura. I will certainly try, if you all are willing to help," she smiled. It wasn't crucial that she be connected with them, but it would make the next part of their journey considerably easier. She turned her head to Aura, expecting one of the Golds to lend her aid, but suddenly, she felt a mental intrusion – Chonk and Zosopel were staring at her intently to her left.

"Careful," Pyrocina whispered, reverting back to Common. The mind was a fragile thing, after all.

Kali felt her mind being lifted from her body, much like some odd dream. Her first instinct was to panic, to return back down to the ground – but suddenly she saw the dashing smile of Valtrex's human form next to her, taking her hand. "No worries, no worries, Kali. We have you." She looked around, and saw the dragons around her – all in mortal form, some human, some elf, some the ancient irda. They were all smiling at her, and reaching out to her, guiding her to…a circle of couches. Kali almost laughed at the sight. She wondered how they knew what a couch looked like – she didn't have one, and they had never visited mortal lands. Perhaps she was imagining it. Perhaps they had dug it out of her mind?

She sat down on a plush purple couch, which she noticed the stuffing was coming out at the seams – she had definitely seen this couch before – and was quickly joined by Valtrex, Tyberis and the red Korrel. The other dragons gathered on the other assorted couches, grinning at each other and at her.

"It's easier for us to gather together, in these smaller forms," Khindris explained. "This is the mental picture we have when we communicate."

Kali wondered if she should tell them that in a mental realm, space had no meaning, and that the forty-eight dragons could reasonably gather together in their full-grown forms and still have room to spare. But she decided against it – after all, they would have to start thinking of themselves as mortals, soon.

"But now we have to return you to your body," Pyrocina looked nervous. "Just remember this place, what it looks like, and you should be able to return."

Kali nodded. It was an odd reversal of roles – they the teachers, she the student, but she took to it well enough. Though she considered them all children – for they were indeed still children – they were quickly becoming her friends, and it was easier for her to few them as equals. They were dragons, after all. It was increasingly hard, each year, to look down on them.

She felt herself returning to her body, but kept the image of the lounge in her mind. She opened her eyes to be met by the curious looks of the dragons, crooning in worry.

"I'm fine," she chuckled. And then she felt it, the mental barrage of images from the dragons – feelings, thoughts, memories. She steeled herself against the onslaught, and reached out to touch the link. It was magic, something she had hungered after for so long. Something that these young dragons had so much of – and would only have more as they grew older.

**'Calm down!'** she suddenly thought at the link, pleased to see it had the desired effect. There was a stunned silence, before the dragons erupted in cheers amongst themselves. They had seemingly done the impossible! So excited, they reverted back to their native dragonspeak, which Kali couldn't understand. She was used to it, however, and waited for them to calm down again, exploring the mind link.

She could still see the mental lounge in her head, and saw as faces winked in and out – never completely gone, just hidden, she surmised. It took her a moment to realize that she could understand them, suddenly, as they chirped and whistled to each other in dragonspeak.

Kali laughed to herself, but decided to keep this information secret. And secrets she could still keep, it seemed, for she had to actually concentrate to project any mental thoughts. She imagined it would become easier with practice – most things did – but it seemed as if she could still keep her thoughts private if she wished to. The last thing she needed was a bunch of adolescent dragons nosing around her mind.

"What now, Kali?" Tyberis asked. "What is the next step?"

All eyes turned towards the woman, curious. She grinned to herself in anticipation for their reactions. This was going to be interesting.

"The next step," she said seriously, "will be to leave Krynn."

* * *

Kali swore she could hear a pin drop for all the silence in the area. The dragons were all staring at her, incredulous.

"Leave Krynn?" Dizirellyth squeaked. Kali nodded to the White, who actually seemed to pale at her.

"And go where?" Furor asked.

"Another world, far from here," Kali responded.

"But…" Khindris began, but Kali cut him off.

"I have thought long and hard on this, I believe it is our only solution. We shall go some place where the war on Krynn will never touch us. Your brethren have forsaken you, your _gods_ have forsaken you, for your friendship, for your unwillingness to fight in a really rather pointless war. There is no place on this world that we can go to escape them. Perhaps the dragons, but never the gods. So thus, we must leave this world."

"But to what world? How do you know there are others?" Valtrex asked.

"Oh, there are many others. A long time ago, before you hatched, I once had a friendship of sorts with a powerful sorcerer of the Black Robe. Said sorcerer was always doing experiments for this and that, as sorcerers inevitably seem to do, and in his studies of portals and other universes, he came across many worlds. Some were horrific, some seemed like paradise. They were all different, though, all were interesting in their own little ways. I happened to be helping him at the time when he came across this one world that sparked my interest," Kali's eyes were glazed slightly, and her voice took on a mystic quality it always did when she spoke of the past.

"It was like and unlike Krynn in so many ways. It was completely full of humans, no elves, no ogres or irda, no dwarves or kender or gnomes. We couldn't detect a trace of magic in the world, and so my friend – who was also a Silvanesti, mind – was completely disinterested in the find. But I convinced him to explore around a bit, and what I saw brought wonders to my eyes.

"The humans still had wars, of course, but I was surprised at how effectively they seemed to mirror all the other race struggles we have here on Krynn. Their wars were not fought because some deity ordered them to – their wars were fought for a reason, for a cause, however pathetic it may be, it was still _something_. The humans seemed to have the ingenuity that gnomes do – they had some marvelous inventions that I know would make a tinkerer forget all about his Life Quest. They were also master masons like dwarves – I saw giant pyramids and buildings made completely of stone and beautiful works of art made from marble or precious metals.

"In fact, I fancied I was looking at Krynn, if the gods had only deemed it fit to make one race. After my friend finally closed the portal, that world haunted my dreams forever. I have always wanted to go, to explore it more, to learn more about those humans and how they exist without the diversity that the other races bring to Krynn. When Takhisis stole the world, and only one moon shone at night, I fancied that it was the same moon that shone over that one world through that portal.

"And so, I would think it would be a marvelous place to go. Yes, there will be war, there is always war. But just think – you will be the only dragons in that world, the only bearers of magic, and no gods. An entire world to claim as our own – to protect and cherish. And no one to tell you what you can and cannot do. You'll have each other, and that is what you have always wanted, is it not?"

As Kali finished her speech – it was a highly edited tale of events, granted - she glanced around at the young dragons around her. Most of them were swept up in her tale, and she could feel their emotions through the mind link. Most were curious, and she could see the Silvers and Blues bounding with excitement at the prospect of a whole world to explore. Most of the chromes had no reservations about leaving, but some of the metallics were afraid to leave their home and their kin.

"If we leave, will we ever be able to return?" Jaggyr asked. Kali shook her head at the Bronze.

"I don't know, but most likely not. I understand if you have reservations about leaving, I really do. I am asking that you leave behind everything you know, everything you love. But you know I would not suggest the idea if I didn't think it would be good for you. This is the only way I can see for us to be together," she smiled sadly.

Internally, she fought with herself. On the one hand, she knew she was manipulating immature minds into a decision that they may regret later on in life. On the other hand, she was so sick and tired of this world – over a thousand years she had lived here and yet the story never changed – that she wanted to leave it, and these dragons were her one way out – no High Sorcerer would open a portal for her, these days. She was using them, yes, she knew. But what she said was the truth – they never would really escape the persecution of Sargonnas or Kiri-Jolith, let alone their brethren, as long as they were on Krynn.

And there was apart of her that never wanted any harm to come to her young charges, especially the chromes, because Valthonis was right, she loved them. They promised something better for this world that the people of Krynn were not ready for. The differences between the chrome and metallic dragons, between elves and humans and dwarves and ogres and all the other assorted races, were only skin deep. If the races would ever work together for more than one or two war, much could be accomplished.

If only those damn gods above stopped playing their power games.

But Kali was done with 'what ifs' and 'if onlys' – it was time to move on. She couldn't die, nor could she practice magic – no, Hiddukel had made sure of that. There would be nothing left for her on this world once Valthonis died, except these dragons. All of her friends were long gone, most not even victim to old age as they should have been, but rather, one of the many pointless wars. She thought it would be better without Takhisis, but she had been wrong.

At least these new humans seemed to have better reason for warring than the people of Krynn. Things they believed in, rather than the shape of one's ears.

She kept her mind away from the mental link, letting them make the decision on their own, but she knew how it would end. They would agree to it.

* * *

They found a flat piece of groundnear the coastof the island, and Kali had Furor burn the grass away with her fiery breath to create one giant blackened circle in the earth. Using salt, runes were drawn along the edges of the circle, evoking many questions from the dragons about their particular meanings. Kali humoured them, answering their questions mentallyas she worked.

She stood and admired the rune circle. It would have been better with chalk on stone, but this would still work with the combined power of the dragons. Kali leaned over and rummaged through one of her bags, pulling out the only pouch that hadn't been shrunk for the journey. She reached inside the red velvet pouch and pulled out a large clear diamond, which instantly sparkled in the rays of the setting sun. The other item, a vial of potion that Kali had prepared before, was set down on the ground while she returned the pouch to her bag and looked up at the dragons around her. She was startled to see forty-eight pairs of eyes staring hungrily at her.

Kali blinked and realized that they weren't staring at her, but rather the diamond in her hand. She had forgotten about a dragon's obsession with treasure. She laughed, which startled many of the metallics and a few Blues from their reverie, but still, many continued to stare.

'**Ahem,'** she thought to them, which got most of their attentions. Except Vlam. Kali hefted the diamond in her hand, watching as the Red's head bobbed with the movement. She couldn't help but laugh again.

"Vlam!" she shouted, and the red dragon looked up at her. She saw a myriad of emotions flash in his eyes before settling on one of indifference. Kali grinned at him – he wasn't fooling her.

"Yes, well. Never seen a diamond, have you?" They shook their heads in response.

"It's so pretty…" Gealdra breathed and many nodded in agreement.

"Yes, well, we're going to have to fix this. Not now, but sometime. I can't have you all turning obsessive whenever you see something shiny and valuable," Kali chuckled at their odd expressions.

"We were not obsessing over it!" Pyris protested loudly.

"Oh, yes you were. You can't help it, though, I know. In your blood – I just had forgotten. But I'll wean you off getting odd about it," Kali smirked at the befuddled expressions. "Now, Khindris, you're going to have to slowly pour this potion," she picked up the vial, "over the diamond while reciting an incantation. Transform into a mortal, first."

The gold dragon quickly shape-shifted into his elven form, taking the vial and diamond out of the woman's hands. Kali told him the spell, and had him say it back to her. Satisfied, she uncorked the vial in his hands and nodded for him to commence. He slowly poured the green potion over the diamond, chanting the incantation. Kali could feel the power moving from him to the diamond as he spoke, and she was surprised she was feeling it through the link. The diamond completely absorbed the thick liquid, flashing a deep green light when Khindris finished reciting the spell. The diamond returned to its clear state, as if nothing had happened, but Kali could feel the magic pulsing off of it. She was surprised at Khindris's power – she had never felt the spell done like that, before. But then again, she'd never seen a dragon do it, only elves and humans.

"Excellent work, Khindris," Kali quickly took the diamond back from him, watching with amusement his struggle between pride at her praise and sadness at the loss of the diamond from his possession. She placed the diamond in the middle of the circle, careful not to smudge any of the runes.

"Alright, since the Reds and Golds are the most advanced in their magic, they are going to sustain the portal for us. It's important that you do not try to distract them from it," Kali warned, and then turned to the dragons in question. "I've made it rather simple for you – between the runes and the diamond, you won't have to worry about the time or place of the destination or structure of the portal. You just need to keep it open. We'll see if I got my part right on the place. It's been a while since I did any portal work, after all."

She looked around at the other dragons, "All of you will need to shape-shift into a human form – human, mind you, this is a human world, and so you better get used to it – to fit through the portal." They slowly began to shift into mortal forms. Kali grinned, for they were still all strikingly beautiful. She would have to wean them off of that, in addition to their treasure lust.

She quickly taught the dragons the phrases they needed to know to open and sustain the portal. Dragon magic, as Kali had lectured so long ago, was unlike any other magic in the world, and thus, many things came much simpler to them than it did sorcerers. Kali was increasingly glad for the fact that she wouldn't have to teach them any complex rituals – they would be here all night, if they didn't.

It was a surreal experience as the Reds and Golds began to chant the spell. The winds shifted suddenly, and the runes began to glow red, like smoldering coals. Kali watched in fascination as the diamond in the center pulsed a deep green, and then she felt the unexplainable pull on her very being as a rip created in space-time, condensing into a round portal.

The image in the portal flicked into being, and Kali found herself staring at a green countryside of rolling hills, surrounded by sloping mountains. The portal seemed level with the ground on the other side, and Kali congratulated herself for getting a good entry point. It was not uncommon to have portals open into midair.

"There, Kali?" Khindris asked.

"Yes, there," she answered absent-mindedly, staring at the beautiful scene on the other side. The dragons all looked at her expectantly for directions, and Kali remembered. "Oh. Okay, you're going to have to go through, one at a time. Who is first?" she looked around, before Valtrex expectantly rushed forward.

"Good, good, Valtrex. You have all my bags, too? That's a lad. Now, just walk on through – you may feel disorientated when going through, but just keep on going," she chuckled.

The Silver walked determinedly through the portal and disappeared from sight – it took a moment, a moment full of worry from Kali, but then he appeared on the other side, turning around in mid-stride to wave at his companions through the portal The other dragons cheered at the sight, and one by one, began to enter the portal.

Soon, all that was left were the ten Reds and Golds holding the portal open. Kali knew this was going to be tricky to maneuver, so she spoke calmly, "Aura, Lumina, you first. Disengage from the magic, and walk through," the two gold females obeyed, and then Kali turned to the Reds.

"Pyris, Korrel, you're next." The two males nodded, and she could feel the others began to strain with the loss of power from the four.

"You can do it," she whispered. "Pyrocina, Binsanth, you're next." The two Golds felt the urgency from their fellows, and quickly withdrew and entered the portal. She could see the worried looks of the others looking back at them from the other world.

"Malsalyx, Vlam," was all she said, and the two Reds quickly entered the portal. She could feel the strain Khindris and Furor were under.

"Okay, this is what we're going to do. Furor is going to let up first, and I want you to get through as quick as you can, okay, Furor?" the Red nodded. "Khindris, the moment she is through, you let off and go as well."

"But what about you?" the Gold turned his pale eyes to her.

"The portal should hold up long enough for me to go through after you – I will need to grab the diamond on my way out, or else others may be able to follow us to this world," Kali explained.

"Why can't one of us grab it?" Furor asked suddenly. "How do we know you won't just run off with it?"

Kali stared at her, "Furor. Think. This diamond was mine, originally. What could possibly come over me to suddenly decide to run off with it and leave you stranded in another world?"

The Red had the decency to blush profusely, and Khindris muttered, "I can see why you want to cure us of that problem with treasure."

Kali nodded at him, chuckling, "Besides, the magical shock would kill you."

"And not you?" Khindris stared at her.

"I can't die," Kali said solemnly.

The two dragons' eyes widened at this statement. They all knew Kali had lived quite longer than any other human, but they figured that she was bound by the same mortality of them all.

"Quickly, you two!" she urged, sensing the portal becoming unstable.

Furor dropped her magic and rushed through, quickly followed by Khindris. Kali was not one to waste time, taking one look at the world around her, before stepping through the portal, grabbing the diamond from its mound of dirt as she stepped into the green abyss.

The seconds that passed by felt like hours – maybe it was hours, though. She kept walking. Maybe it was years or centuries or entire eras. Time seemed to have no meaning, and yet she could feel it slipping around her – it was an odd sensation, she had not felt Time for a very long time, and for a moment, she was mortal again, before finally she felt herself falling…down, down, further and further.

Suddenly, she hit a brisk air and felt time recede away from her. She was now actually falling through the air, the diamond clutched in her hand. Her mind belatedly realized that the portal must have shifted, and she saw one of the Coppers, Quemadura, dive to catch her in the air, but it was too late. Kali hit the ground with a loud, sickening thud.

Her head filled with cries of terror and worry as the dragons circled around her, some in human form, some in their true form. Kali's mind was full of pain – it felt like all her bones were broken, and her heart had burst inside of her chest at the impact. But she was still conscious, she was still alive, and she began to feel her bones and tissue knit back together, her bruised organs beginning to repair themselves.

'**I'm fine!'** she thought to the dragons that were gathering at her side, crooning in worry. Their relief was palpable. She chuckled once her vocal cords had been repaired, **'I don't want any of you to try to survive a fall from that height, do you hear me?'** she scolded mockingly.

She saw a silver claw in front of her, and, sensing that her bones had completely healed, she reached up to grab it, pulling herself to her feet. She smiled up at Valtrex in gratitude, and looked around to the others.

'**There is still quite a bit of work to do, before we can explore this world more fully. First, we must work on your human forms. Human, mind you, not elf, not irda, not anything else. Just human, like I said earlier. Oh, don't scowl at me like that, Pyris, you'll live. We must keep incognito – which means, we must blend in. Which also means, no stunningly beautiful people,'** she grinned as a few ducked their heads in acknowledgement.

"Now," she reverted back to spoken word, "let's get started!"


	5. Exploration

It had taken him much longer to notice than it should have. Sargonnas had not turned his eyes towards the Dragon Isles in a while – not since those weaklings had first fled there. He had not bothered with them after that. He knew they would come to his service, eventually; they had no where else to go.

But he had not noticed when the anomaly first appeared. He should have, though. Perhaps he didn't because it was so far away from where he had been currently looking. Perhaps because Mishakal was visiting the Mortal at Misty Isle and the gods tended to look away when she did. They would rather forget about the Mortal – he was a reminder of a time that was no more, and soon he would be gone for good.

But why hadn't she noticed it?

When Sargonnas first spotted it, it was a pulsating green blob at the edge of his vision. He looked towards it, and was annoyed when it tried to stay out of his line of sight. He focused on it, and forced it to stay – for it was just mortal magic; it could not escape his notice for long – and was surprised to see what it was.

A gateway. A gateway made of dragon-magic. Both Takhi – no, _his_ children's magic, and the Mortal's children.

Sargonnas was startled at first, and then he quickly angered. Were they trying to escape? The Immortal must have helped them! He reached out to the swirling anomaly, intending to halt their escape and to see where they were fleeing. Sargonnas was surprised when his hand slowed slightly – he could not see what was blocking his hand. Whatever it was, it quickly gave way under his might, and he closed his fingers around the offensive green spot...

…only to have it close and disappear within his grasp.

Sargonnas roared out in a fit of rage, and quickly called the others to him. Those of the Dark rushed to his call, while those who were Neutral took their time. Those of the Light sauntered over slowly, wondering what business he wanted with them. Last to arrive was Zivilyn, who was looking quite annoyed at the interruption.

"What is it?" the Prince of Lies asked.

Sargonnas turned his eyes to Hiddukel, seething in rage. "They have escaped!" He jabbed his finger towards the Isles, and it took a moment for all in attendance to catch on to his meaning. The friendship forming between the dragons held interest in them all – if only to see if the dragons would choose a side in the coming war.

"The Immortal with them?" Hiddukel turned his sight to the Isles, only to find her gone, as well.

Gilean looked exasperated. "What difference does it make? Others have left, before."

Hiddukel cried out in anger, "She cannot escape! She has not paid her debt completely!"

"I daresay she'll continue to pay, even if you are not there to collect," Nuitari spoke quietly from where he stood with Solinari and Lunitari. The gods of magic had been offended when Hiddukel had stripped the Immortal of her magic – after all, they felt, it was their decision on who to bless with the power of High Sorcery. But they had conceded, eventually, that those who gambled and lost to Hiddukel ultimately were at his mercy – or lack thereof. It was a matter out of their hands, but they had been no less embittered by it.

Sargonnas commanded the gods' attention back to him – old arguments did not need to be brought up now. "It matters," he glanced at Gilean, "because it means they have slighted us. The Mortal must have helped them."

"What could he possibly do?" Majere looked as annoyed as Zivilyn and Gilean.

"You!" Sargonnas ignored the question and pointed at Mishakal. "You were nearby – how could you not notice?"

She shrugged. "Their affairs mean nothing to me."

Kiri-Jolith looked at her incredulously and asked, "Mother, what do you mean? They abandoned this world and us! How can you not be offended?"

Sargonnas was pleased that Kiri-Jolith agreed with him. The Sword of Justice currently commanded control over the gods of the Light, and they would listen to him.

"And you!" The God of Vengeance rounded on Zivilyn. "How could you not see this coming?"

"I fail to see how it concerns me," the God of Wisdom snapped, looking at Sargonnas in disgust. Gilean frowned at Zivilyn – the gods of Neutrality were not to choose sides, unless they did so as one. It was odd behavior from Zivilyn, who normally worked closely with Gilean.

"Fair enough," Gilean said quietly, staring intently at Zivilyn. "But where did they go?"

Zivilyn looked far ahead and he looked far behind. He looked above and below and all around. He turned to Gilean and shrugged nonchalantly.

"I do not know."

Sargonnas watched the two curiously. This was a peculiar development – Zivilyn always sided closely with Gilean, as the keepers of wisdom and knowledge, respectively. It appeared that both the gods of Light and Neutrality were fragmented. This could prove to be a great advantage for the Dark, who were never truly a united front, but nevertheless were working together while it appeared the others were not.

"Well, since we do not know where they went – not that it should particularly concern any of us to begin with – then I believe this is no longer a matter to discuss," Majere said irritably.

"We can't just let them go!" Hiddukel cried out.

"Then go find them," Chislev muttered, rolling her eyes. She began to make her descent to the world below, followed closely by her consort, Zivilyn. The other gods began to disperse, and Sargonnas watched them head off, his rage over the dragons forgotten. It appeared there would be more than two sides to this war.

The gods of Darkness stood together, which the exception of Nuitari, who went back to his moon. The gods of magic had been secluding themselves more and more lately, not working with their respective sides.

"This is an interesting development," Morgion spoke from beside Sargonnas. The others nodded in agreement. "It appears that Mishakal, Majere, Zivilyn and Chislev have…joined forces."

"Yes, indeed. I wonder what they are planning," Sargonnas mused.

"Do you think it includes the Mortal?" Zebiom asked.

"Majere said it himself, what _could_ he possibly do?" Morgion wondered.

"Lead an army," Sargonnas growled.

"But what about the dragons and the Immortal?" Hiddukel asked.

"Let them go for now." Sargonnas looked warningly at Hiddukel. "We shall look for them later, and get our revenge. But we have the advantage now – let us not waste it."

The others agreed. With the forces of Light and Neutrality fragmented, Krynn would be theirs.

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"Okay," Kali muttered, surveying the assembled humans before her. "This isn't going to work."

They looked at themselves in confusion. They couldn't figure out what she saw wrong with them.

"With the exception of Folhala and Ursanth, you all look…well, amazing," Kali chuckled. She was trying to teach them to _not_ be stunningly beautiful when they transformed. "And _you_ _two_," she pointed at the two Greens, "look absolutely revolting, and will draw just as much attention as the rest of them."

The old man and woman standing in the sea of perfect, lean-figured bodies grinned widely at her, displaying their rotted-out _black_ teeth. Kali cried out in disgust, and they laughed - a hacking, wheezing sound which made the others around them cringe.

"Can you two stop fooling around, and show them a proper form?" Kali glared at the two, who quickly stopped laughing. A moment later, pock-marked skin started to clear and smooth, hair re-grew from balding scalps, and hunched postures straightened. It was a startlingly improvement, but not _too_ good of one. They looked like – well, normal humans, not half-gods who decided to grace the world with their presence.

"You see!" Kali beamed at the two. "That is how normal people look."

"I don't see the difference," one of the dragons said – she couldn't tell who was who in their current forms. "They have everything else that we do."

"Yes, but _look_ at the details of them. Their facial features aren't symmetrical, their bodies have a bit of fat on them and they're about the right height. Their hair and eyes are perfectly normal colours – not gold or purple or silver, or – gods, Vlam – red."

"I thought you said red was fine!" Vlam grumbled at her.

"Red _hair_ is fine, Vlam. Not red eyes," she scolded him. "The opposite goes for green. Green eyes are fine, but not hair, _Gladyli_." She squinted at the offending green dragon, who quickly changed her hair colour to a dull brown under the woman's scowl.

"Good. Let's change colours first, all of you, and then work on body and facial features. You should all settle on one or two forms to use when you need to – and you shouldn't all be the same age, either," she tsked.

Kali began to work with them, one by one, trying to mold them into human forms that would be less noticeable. The Silvers had the hardest time with it, for some reason she couldn't fathom, but eventually forty-eight normal-looking people of all ages stood before her.

"Better!" She smiled proudly at them. "Much, _much_ better."

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They had set up "camp" – as Kali termed it – in the valley in which they had first entered from Krynn. There was a small lake in the center – just big enough to take a swim in if they felt like it – with a stream running out from it and down into the hills below. Most of the time, the dragons laid about the lake and mountain-sides, sunning themselves. Kali had found a small cave from which she had unpacked some of her belongings – with the help of Khindris – and set up a fire-pit outside.

There weren't any humans about, as far as they could see when they went hunting. The metallics, who had never had any meat except fish and occasionally poultry, quickly discovered that they loved the red deer that populated the forests below the mountains. The chromes, who had only had elk and bison before they left Ansalon for the Dragon Isles, also agreed that it was the best meat they had ever had. Kali seemed surprised, though, that they never really ate more than once a week, and that one of the large animals would feed, on average, five dragons. She wondered how they had grown at such startlingly fast rates on so little food.

Kali wouldn't let them explore any more area than they had, which frustrated Valtrex to no end, explaining that she was afraid they would be spotted. He was currently sulking atop one of the higher mountains that framed their little valley, nestled in the snow. The clouds that day were particularly thick, making visibility hard. Normally, he could see for miles around, and would long to go explore. But today, he wasn't even able to see anything, so instead, he sulked. None of the other Silvers seemed too bothered by it, and played with the Whites in the snow. Occasionally, Tyberis would come up and join the other dragons at these heights, but the others – including Kali – always complained it was too cold for them. Valtrex couldn't fathom why – it was perfect.

He spotted the Blue flying up to join him, and moved, making room for him on the ledge which he currently occupied. The blue dragon settled down beside him, and Valtrex could immediately tell he was excited about something.

"What is it?" the Silver asked.

Tyberis glanced around furtively and dropped his head near Valtrex's. Valtrex frowned and tilted his head to listen.

"Kali is going to let me go explore with her, later," the Blue whispered.

"What!" Valtrex exclaimed, and was quickly shushed by Tyberis, who looked at the other dragons in concern, but none of them were paying attention.

"Why you?" Valtrex was slightly wounded that Kali would take Tyberis instead of him.

"She said it was because of my colour – I would be less easily seen if we lost the cloud cover," Tyberis explained. Valtrex knew it made sense, but he was no less offended.

"I wish I could go," he whined.

"I know, and I told her," the Blue said in an apologetic tone. "She said that if the clouds were thicker, she'd take you along, too. But keep quiet about it, okay? No one is supposed to know."

Valtrex nodded, put out.

"We're going to leave soon – going to act like we're going to go hunting," Tyberis said. The Blue glanced around at the others again and lowered his voice, "Perhaps, you know, you could act like you're going hunting, too. You know her eyesight isn't as good as ours – you could just hang back a little, she'd never know."

Valtrex looked at his friend, who was grinning, and he laughed, "A bit devious for me, but I'm not above it."

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'**Ah good, farmland,' **she thought to Tyberis. It was a great relief not to have to shout at him, like most dragon-riders did. **'A town should be nearby, then.'**

They had flown away from their valley into the plains, but hadn't found very many signs of human life. It had taken an hour, but they finally found some farmland, promising a town nearby. But that town never showed up. There was the occasional house or small collection of buildings – they were probably villages - too small to successfully blend in as strangers. Graveled roads cut up the land, and occasionally, there would be a strange road consisting of two metal bars laid side-by-side. Kali never saw any vehicles upon it, and wondered what it was for. She directed Tyberis to start following the graveled roads when he could, and eventually they came upon a much larger town. Kali was surprised at its size – bigger than what she had been expecting, but she supposed the bigger it was, the better.

Her plan of action was to infiltrate the town as much as she could – hang around the taverns and collect information, once she had learned the language. She knew she would have to take a couple of dragons along with her – dragons tended to pick up languages extremely quickly, and through the mind-link, she could also learn it much faster from them. It would also be useful to have them cast invisibility spells until she felt comfortable enough to begin to appear in person.

She hoped to eventually establish a human residence somewhere near a city, and visit libraries to learn as much as she could about this race and their cultures. She was indecisive about whether or not to let the dragons let their presence be known, though she would prefer them not to. The last thing the dragons needed was to be viewed as a threat and hunted down – though she doubted these humans could harm them, it would be terribly inconvenient.

Perhaps they could find land somewhere that the humans hadn't claimed yet. After all, it was an entire _world_. There was no way that these humans had explored it fully yet – the races of Ansalon barely knew anything of Taladas, yet alone the lands on the other side of Krynn.

**'What's that black smoke?'**Tyberis asked her, suddenly. Kali had just assumed it was a fire when she had first spotted it, but upon closer inspection, she saw it was being funneled out of giant tubes that were jutting out of the top of one of the larger buildings.

'**I don't know,' **she thought, frowning. **'It's obviously from some fire – but if it's being controlled like that…hmmm…it could possibly be a forge of some sort,' **she reasoned. She was surprised at the level of industrialization if that was true. She remembered some of the devices she had spotted through her colleague's portal when he had found this world – but they were small, personal inventions. Not something that would be produced on a large scale. She wondered how much time had passed since their discovery of this world. It had been nearly five-hundred years ago to her, but time passed differently between worlds. Time could've progressed only a few days since then – or perhaps a few millennia. She was just thankful it couldn't go _backwards_.

'**Look, Kali! Another town!'** Tyberis exclaimed. Kali looked around, but she couldn't see what the dragon was talking about.

'**Which direction?' **she asked.

The blue dragon wheeled slightly to his right. **'There, ahead of us.'**

**'I can't see as far as you, Tyberis. But let's start heading that way, then.' **She was surprised that there would be another town so close to this one. It seemed large enough to be supported by the farmland around it – too large, in fact. As they flew, Kali noticed the number of roads below them to converge – and she saw a considerable amount of traffic on them. There were a number of wagons and some carriages. She was relieved to see that they had horses, as well as mules and oxen.

But then something caught her eye – an open wagon traveling down the road, going only slightly faster than the other vehicles, which pulled over to let it pass. There was nothing exceptional about the wagon itself, except that it gleamed like it was made of metal. What was exceptional about it was the fact that it didn't appear to be pulled by any team of livestock – nothing at all. Kali was intrigued by it – was it magical? They had never seen any evidence of magic when they had first seen this world, but it had by no means given them a complete view of the society.

Most of the horses seemed frightened by the vehicle as it passed them by, though the other animals didn't seem to care. Horses were normally wary of all things magical, which made Kali think it was, but this thing seemed to excrete smoke from its back end, which didn't make any sense to Kali. There would be no reason for a magical device to produce smoke.

Then she remembered her last visit to Mount Nevermind. The gnomes there had babbled on and on about a steam engine, which would allow them to propel vehicles without the use of livestock. Gnomes could hardly ever make their inventions actually work, so Kali had at the time dismissed the idea. But perhaps these humans could succeed where the gnomes had seemingly been cursed to fail. Though it wasn't steam coming out of the vehicle, she reasoned that perhaps the humans had a different design.

Suddenly, Tyberis jerked under her as a loud whistle cut through the air, and she crouched on his back, clutching his mane until he resettled. Kali looked about for the source of the piercing sound, and quickly saw another vehicle to her left, speeding along one of the strangle metal-bar roads. Black smoke billowed from the top of it, and like the metal wagon, was not drawn by horses. In fact, it was going much faster than any horse could hope to go – though Tyberis could still out-fly it. The vehicle was rushing in the direction they were flying, so Kali made Tyberis slow down so she could study it.

The vehicle was long – a series of connected wagons – which followed the metal bars precisely. The front vehicle seemed to be _pulling_ the others, which surprised Kali, and made her wonder how fast it could go without its load. The wagon directly behind the first was full of black rocks, and frequently, Kali spied a man that walked between the two and carried a shovel-full of the black rocks back with him. The entire contraption fascinated her, but Tyberis complained that the sound it made occasionally hurt his ears, so Kali let him pull up and follow at a distance.

They came upon another town – much larger than the first – from which a hubbub of graveled and metal-bar roads came together. There were more of the buildings that spewed plumes of black smoke into the air, and the stench made Tyberis steer clear of the town. They continued to follow the fast vehicle, but she eventually made Tyberis fly ahead of it, gaining altitude, as it was going too slow for her and she wanted to see what else was up ahead.

They followed the roads, watching the farmland around them become denser and denser. There were no forests or open plains – just farmland and town after town. Kali was surprised at the number of people that had to be living in this area – the population had to be enormous. There was plenty of land in this world, she reasoned. Why did they not live out there? Perhaps there was not too much livable land.

Perhaps there were just a lot of humans.

It was beginning to get dark, and Kali knew they would have to turn back, soon. She was just about to tell Tyberis to turn around when she spotted a strange light off into the distance.

**'Tyberis,'** she thought, **'let's see what that is over there. That light.'**

The traffic on the roads below was heavy, and there were many metal-bar roads with vehicles on them, all leading towards that glowing light ahead. Tyberis flew faster, his curiosity spurring him on. As they approached it, Kali realised it was a sprawling city straddling a large river. There was a good amount of traffic on the river, and on the city roads themselves. The glow they had seen from the distance was really the lights from buildings and from streetlamps, whose fires did not produce any smoke. It was astounding to Kali, how huge this city was. She couldn't fathom how many people lived there.

There were a lot of stone buildings and one so large and ornate that Kali could only figure it to be a palace of some sort. Which that meant that the seat of some royalty must be here, because she couldn't imagine a city being any bigger than this. Where there was royalty, there were libraries.

**'I think we found what we're looking for, Tyberis,' **Kali chuckled. This city would be perfect for her to study the humans. Large enough for her to go by, unnoticed, and later, for nearly fifty people to move in, if all went well. Kali looked forward to the times ahead.


End file.
